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Biotechnology has grown from these humble beginnings. In 2005, we can use biotechnology to change cells in other living things to make products and discover new things about the genetic basis of life.

We can do this because we now know a lot more about genes in plants and animals and how they relate to different characteristics such as eye colour or susceptibility to disease. While some characteristics such as hair colour are controlled by a single gene, most traits are controlled by a larger number of genes.

Until recently, we have looked at how well animals and plants perform or grow, as well as how their relatives perform, to get an idea of whether they have genes of interest to us. Understanding more about genes and how they work means we can have greater control over breeding processes.

While we don’t yet know about the function of every gene in humans, plants and animals, we can work with the knowledge we do have. For example, researchers can locate an area of a chromosome that seems to include a group of genes that has a significant effect on a characteristic of the animal or plant. While they don’t know what the genes are or their exact function, they know the genes affect a certain characteristic. They also know where the genes are located – i.e. which chromosome and which area on the chromosome.

To work out which variation of genes the plant or animal has, genetic markers are used. Genetic markers are thought to have no function and no impact on animal survival, but can be easily identified in the laboratory. Genetic markers act like landmarks to indicate where in the genome the genes of interest are located.

We have also learnt a lot more about ourselves, how our genes work inside our cells and what happens when things go wrong.

We can detect diseases earlier, diagnose them more accurately and because we understand more about how diseases work, we can work to prevent it by modifying our behaviour. Studying the genetics and biochemistry of pathogens (such as bacteria and viruses) has led to drugs designed to reduce the impact of disease symptoms or to boost the immune system to prevent disease.

Watch a video from the CSIRO about gene technology